The role of pricing on integrated water management at the industrial park level: A case of TEDA

Increasing water shortage and water pollution issues have attracted people to seek an integrated water management approach. This paper presents an integrated water management model at the industrial park level by employing a case of TEDA. Such a model is an overall management model for optimizing water resources within an industrial park, seeking potential water reuse among industries, incorporating the size and cost of reclaimed wastewater delivery systems. The main focus of this paper is to test how pricing strategy can influence water reuse scenarios by doing a cost sensitivity analysis. The results indicate that when being set at the correct level, increased water charges could help reduce freshwater use and wastewater discharge, while covering administrative costs, financing environmental improvements (e.g. cleaner production), or subsidizing the operation of the wastewater treatment plant and the maintenance of freshwater infrastructure, therefore, providing water reuse incentives for water users within an industrial park.